Saturday, September 29, 2012

Embracing the Mediocrity

I mean, we all set standards for ourselves. (Yours probably include a degree of cleanliness I never reach. But hey, my girls have a hot breakfast almost every day. So that's something. Right?)

But no matter what those standards are, some days you just have to let go of them, and, as my roommate used to say, "embrace the suckiness." It took me a long time to be willing to let go of my standards for a day. Especially because my struggles, while significant to me, would have been nothing to somebody else. They'd never understand what my holdup was.

Doesn't matter. It's real to me. So it's real. And when I can't give the day my best, I should accept what I can give it, be grateful for that, and move along cheerfully. I think the worst thing I can do is berate myself to the point where I'm falling short of my usual self and being what our family calls "a big grumpster" to boot.

So that's what I'm going to do today. Peace out. Here's hoping for a better tomorrow.

If you google "Grumpster" you can find this guy. Isn't he perfect? And also a little scary.

1 comment:

I hear you! And, I honestly think that we're all a lot more like you than you may think. There are sticky spots on my floor that I haven't cleaned in...well, weeks. If my floors get vacuumed (or mopped, for that matter), it's because my husband does it on Saturday night.

I was listening to a podcast by Virginia Hinckley Pearce yesterday and during those young family years, she said she just had to adjust what mothering (and I'll add wife/life) success looked like for her. She determined that as long as her kids were alive, fed, and clothed, then she was successful. That really struck me.

In this world of Pinterest and facebook, all we really get is a snap-second view of someone else's life. And then we compare our worst to their best. That's not fair to either them or us! Expecting them to always be that good and expecting ourselves to not be.

Again--I won't give you empty condolences. I just hope that today is better. :)

Meet us. Although, chances are, you already have.

Scott and I met about 16 years ago when we were in the same LDS ward. (Although, um, he doesn't remember me.) These days, he's a transportation engineer, a daddy, and a the highlight of my day.

I'm Mickelle, and I do most (all) of the blogging around here. I taught fifth grade for four years, and now I'm home with Betsy, our leap-year wonder girl and Avielle, the best sidekick and accomplice a big sister could ask for.